NPD Group Stats say PC’s up 3% - Why ACSI says American prefer PC's as the Price is Right for the Return of the Mac

“After a slow start, aggressive pricing and robust selection drove significant volumes towards the end of the Back-to-School season, making it a very strong year. Due to the success of the aggressive Windows notebook pricing during Back-to-School we could see a much more aggressive pricing strategy this holiday season as the seemingly stable PC volume environment emboldens the PC OEMs and the OS and chip suppliers to make a grab for market share while the industry remains relatively steady”

NPD Group exec Stephen Baker commenting on recent stats PC sales for the 2014 Back to School Season in the US of A which starts in August 2014 to September 2014

Some recent Stats from the NPD group as well as American Customer Satisfaction Index go a long way to explaining the longevity of the Desktop computer.

According to NPD Group, PC sales rose by 3% during the 2014 Back to School Season in the US of A which starts in August 2014 to September 2014 as stated in the article “PC SALES SPIKE DURING BACK TO SCHOOL SEASON, LED BY MACS AND CHROMEBOOKS”, published September 26, 2014 By Konrad Krawczyk, DigitalTrends.

The PC marketshare for the 2014 Back to School Season in the US of A which starts in August 2014 to September 2014 was divided among three contenders as follows:

1.      26.8% went to in Apple Macs

2.      4.5% went to in Chomebooks and Chromeboxes

3.      68.4% went to Windows OS Computers

This is an improvement on the marketshare figures during 2013 Back to School Season in the US of A which starts in August 2013 to September 2013:

1.         24.2% went to in Apple Macs

2.         3.3% went to in Chomebooks and Chromeboxes

3.         72.3% went to Windows OS Computers

Thus comparing the figures above, Apple Macs, Chomebooks and Chromeboxes saw their overall marketshare increase while the Windows PC market suffered a decline. Apple Mac and Chromebooks are increasing popular with American high schools, as many opt to purchase these Cloud-based Laptops that offer the performance of more expensive Windows computers, need Wi-Fi due to their content being stored in the Cloud.

Their improving Hardware with the US$299 Acer Chromebook 13 by Acer now sporting a Nvidia K1 Processor as detailed in my blog article entitled “US$299 Acer Chromebook 13 by Acer - How Nvidia K1 Processor Under the Hood means that Cloud Gaming on the Horizon by 2017” make them a value buy for students who like the collaborative nature of work that these Laptops can achieve.

Therefore, it should come as no surprise which computer led the charge; chromebooks which according to analyst Gartner are expected to hit 5.2 million in sales by the end of 2014 as I'd stated in my blog article entitled “Chromebooks Sales to Triple by 2017 – How Rapid Sales Heaven for PC Makers means Apple iPad and Microsoft Surface Pro 3 under attack”.

The NPD Group stats tell a similar tale for the PC Industry but over the 2014 Back to School Season in the US of A which starts in August 2014 to September 2014

1.      16% increase in Apple Macbook

2.      12% increase in Desktop computers

3.      32% increase in chromebooks

NPD Stats say PC’s up 3% - ACSI says Americans prefer PC's as Performance Guaranteed

So why the sudden rise?

This seem to be the same conclusion arrived at by the ACSI (American Customer Satisfaction Index)  as stated in the article “CONSUMERS ARE MORE SATISFIED WITH DESKTOP PCS THAN LAPTOPS, TABLETS, STUDY SAYS”, published September 24, 2014 By Konrad Krawczyk, DigitalTrends.

According to the ACSI on a scale of 0 to 100:

1.      76 for Laptops a decline of 4%

2.      80 for Tablets, an increase of 1%

3.      81 for Desktop PC's, an increase of 3%

When broken down by brand, Apple comes out as the winner:

1.      84 for Apple

2.      82 for Samsung, Asus and Lenovo et al

3.      76 for Acer

4.      76 for Dell

5.      75 for Toshiba

6.      74 for Hewlett-Packard

ACSI exec Claes Fornell for the shift suggests that people are moving on to better, brighter and shinier gadgets, quote: “The increase in customer satisfaction for PCs could mean two different things. Either the product is seen as more attractive now and is poised for a comeback, or it has higher customer satisfaction simply because those who were less than happy with it have moved to other devices. If dissatisfied customers leave and satisfied customers stay, average satisfaction may well go up”.

Probably too, the novelty of portability of Tablets is wearing off. Many may be realizing that the albeit portable and great for watching YouTube video, Tablets, especially Google Android Tablets, aren't great for Collaborative work or Content-Creation.

For that you need a Desktop or a Laptop computer. A renaissance of sorts is taking place where customer are rediscovering Desktop PC, which have markedly improved and are now much smaller and Quieter.

Heck, even I’ve used the Desktop PC in the Learning Commons in the Library at MICO University College while doing my Professional Diploma in Teaching and they perform way better than my laptop, which needs constant maintenance to keep it going.

Also overall Desktop and Chromebook computers are much cheaper, usually in the range of US$299 to US$399 as they’re not mobile and due to their declining popularity, PC makers had to offer steep discounts to make units sell.

So does this mark the Return of the Mac as Americans become more interested in riding on the Cloud based Chrome OS? We’ll really know where the chips lay come Christmas 2014 when further price drops are expected and sales numbers will reflect who is the most loved of them all as the PC's slowly make a comeback!